Breaking Point

Care about the craft of songwriting may no longer be the norm in today's pop/rock world, where cookie-cutter lyrics and beats usually hold sway. But don't tell that to Memphis-based Breaking Point, whose powerful new album Beautiful Disorder combines emotional, heart-felt lyrics with simultaneously intricate and straight-ahead musicianship to deliver a compelling and intense album from beginning to end.

Rewind to the first time that founders Brett Erickson (singer/guitarist) and Justin Rimer (guitarist) played together. Erickson recalls: "I took Justin to this horrible ghetto neighborhood in Memphis, where you could hear gunshots in the background, and we just rocked out."

Not quite the imagined setting for heartfelt lyrics and precise songwriting. Nonetheless, according to Erickson, "We saw something in each other that was incredible, and we realized with a little work we could achieve something amazing."

Obviously something went right that day of jamming. Back to the present, where the band's album features a mere percentage of their overall collection: "We began with about 90 songs," says Erickson, "and it obviously became necessary to try and sculpt that down. We started out really angry, aggressive and trying to work out our angst about where we were at, but we finally turned our energies into writing about something personal, that we were close to. I've always felt that if you don't feel it, then don"t say it or play it."